On April 1, Burlington will inaugurate a new mayor for the first time since 2012: Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. The Progressive state representative won the race with just over 51% of the vote, beating out her leading competitor, Democrat and longtime city councilor Joan Shannon, and two independent candidates.
Now that the dust from election night has settled, Mulvaney-Stanak is solidifying her team and setting priorities for her early days in office while simultaneously maintaining her role in Montpelier. She discussed her plans for her first 90 days with Vermont Edition.
The budget gap
Burlington faces an estimated $9 million budget gap. Working on the FY25 budget will be one of Mulvaney-Stanak's early areas of focus, she said.
"I'm already thinking about a list of advisors from different political backgrounds to really help me grapple with the budget deficit," she said. She also cited the need for the "political courage" to slow down some projects in order to free up resources for her other main priority: public safety.
Public safety
Mulvaney-Stanak plans to follow through on her campaign promise to hire a special assistant to the mayor's office focused on community safety, "because what we've been doing so far has not worked." The special assistant would bring together department heads, community partners like the Howard Center, and the medical community to grapple with the gaps in the city's approach to public safety.
She also acknowledged that she will need to spend time in the upcoming weeks strengthening her relationships with the city's law enforcement leaders. The unions for the city's firefighters and police both endorsed Democrat Joan Shannon in the mayoral race. Mulvaney-Stanak said she's reach out to the union leaders "and have opened my hand to say I look forward to working together, let's start building that relationship."
When asked whether she will reappoint police chief Jon Murad, a Miro Weinberger appointee, Mulvaney-Stanak said simply that she's reached out to him to set up a meeting as well.
"I very much welcome a chance to see if a partnership between Chief Murad and I can work going forward," she said. "I think that's in the best interest of the city of Burlington. And to make that work, we have to both be flexible about finding common ground to move forward. So I'm hopeful and we'll see how things go."
Climate change
In her acceptance speech on election night, Mulvaney-Stanak said climate did not come up enough in the race, which was dominated by questions around public safety. She said she plans to review the city's climate action plan and explore why its fossil fuel numbers are going up.
She also wanted to review greenhouse gas emissions coming from the McNeil Generating Station and Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport, which is municipally owned.
Affordable housing
Getting more affordable housing units online isn't going to happen overnight, Mulvaney-Stanak acknowledged. The city is in the midst of re-imagining its zoning regulations, with the goal of increasing density and allowing property owners to add more units on a smaller scale.
She also noted that the city doesn't have a full grasp yet of its housing needs. "As we build things out, we'll get a better grasp on what our actual housing needs are, and then be able to better adjust five, ten years from now about how much more housing we're really going to need."
Holding down two jobs
Mulvaney-Stanak said she's still considering if and when to resign her seat in the Vermont House of Representatives. Under the state constitution, she is allowed to hold both positions. She said she wouldn't want her seat to be vacant during a critical time in Vermont's short legislative session, which wraps up in May.
She also cited a number of bills she wants to help pass, such as H.72, a bill to pilot overdose prevention centers in Vermont. During her mayoral campaign, she frequently discussed her commitment to getting one of the pilot centers in Burlington.
Broadcast at noon Wednesday, March 13, 2024; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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